Time recorder mechanism



OGL 4, 1938- I E. G. sTREcKFUss 2,132,134

TIME RECORDER MECHANISM ATTORNEYS.

oct. 4, 1938. E STRECKFUSS Eyvljlf TIME RECORDER MECHANISM Filed Nov. 20, 1935 2 sheets-sham 2 I-N OUT E 10o g 43o 829 E 12ao Elmer? INVENTR.

ATTORNEYS.

2 ME@ 6? 5 TEEC/r/fuss.

Patented Oct. 4, 1938 U'NsiTE D STATES PATENT OFFICE Application November 20, 1935, SerialNo. 50,682

Claims.

My inventiony relates to time recorders, and more particularly to the, provision of a time recorder with an operating lever located at the front of the machine, which may be rocked to the right or the left in order to'make a recording. In commercial establishments itz is usual to find a number of aisles through whichthe workmen pass in entering andv leaving the shop. These aisles are usually definedby racks which carry the time 10i, cardsv of the employes. In themorning an employe passes a rack, takes his card outy and makes a recording, and then places his-card in arack at the other side of the recorder. In leaving the shop, the reverse procedure `is followed, so that the l5, cards are again placed in the original racks. In an arrangement of this sort, there is usually a congestion of employes passing the recorderat starting time in the morning, at noon, and'at night at quitting time. I have conceived that if a recorder could be provided with a front handle which was adapted to rock as above described, and if the recorder could be so designed that the employe could rock the operating handle in the direction of his own travel, and the recorder would indicate, according to the direction in which the handle was actuated, whether the recording was in or out, a material saving in time could be attained.

It is, therefore, an object of my invention to 303 provide a time recorder in which the operating lever is at the front of the machine. and in which recordings are made by'rock-ing the -handle either to the right or to the left.

It isA another object of my invention to provide a time recorder as above outlined, in which the rocking of the operating handle to one side will'- shift the card tray to oneside, andthe rocking of the handle in the other direction'will shift the Y card tray to the other side.

`r It is a further'objectof my invention to provide such atime recorder in which, no matter on which side of the path of the employes it may be located, a movement of the handle in the direction of travelof the employe when entering the shop will make an "in recording, and in which a movement of the handle in the direction .of travel of the employe when leavingthe shop will make an out recording.

These and other objects of my invention which will be set forth hereinafter orwill be apparent to'r one skilledin .the art` upon reading these `specifications, I accomplish by that certain'construction and arrangement of parts of which I shall now de- 55, scribe a preferred embodiment.- Reference is now` made to the drawings which form and in which:

Figure 1 is a front view of my invention, parts ofthe recorder frame and handle being broken away for greater clarity.

Fig. 2 is an elevation of a part of the device as seen from the left in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view along the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Fig.'4 is a detail perspective view of the rocker cam member.

Fig. 5 is a view of an exemplary form of card which may be used in my device.

Briefly, in the practice of my invention, I provide a time recorder of somewhat conventional 15 construction, having a card tray I, which is provided with integral lugs 2 by which the tray is mounted upon the shaft 3, and other hook-shaped lugs- 4, which rest upon the shaft 5, whereby the tray is firmly mounted for sliding movement along the shafts 3 and 5. The sliding movement of the tray is limited by the collars 6 on the shaft 3.

Centrally located at the front of the recorder is a split boss "I, which provides bearings for the handle shaft 8; a collar 9 provided with a set screw is fixed on the shaft between the arms of the boss 1, and serves to x the longitudinal position of the shaft 8. A handle I0 is provided in order to rock the shaft 8, and may be fastened thereto by any well known means. The inner end of the shaft 8 carries an arm I I, the upper end of which is provided with a cam roller I2 mounted upon a screw stud I2a. The lower end of this arm I I is adapted to swing between the adjusting screws I3a mounted in lugs I3, which are formed integrally with 3. the recorder base or frame. These adjusting screws serve as stop members to limit the degree of swing of the operating handle I 0. The collars 6 are preferably adjusted to become operative somewhat in advance of the screws I3a.

The connection between the card tray and the operating handle is as follows: Pivoted upon a standard I 4, which is also integral with the frame of the recorder, by means of the stud Ida, is the lever I5, the upper end of which is connected to one of the lugs 2'on the card tray by the link I5; mounted on the lower end of the lever I5 is a bracket I'I; passing through a hole in the bracket I1 and attached to the upper end of the arm II, is a rod I8; upon the rod I8 on either side of the bracket I'I are the small compression springs I9, theouter ends of which abut against collars 20. By these means, referring to Fig. 1, as the operating handle is rocked to the right, the rod I8 a part hereof,

moivesrto the right, carrying with it the collars '1 2i), which, bearing against the bracket I1 through the springs I9, urge the lever I5 in a counterclockwise direction, and the card tray is shifted to the left. Likewise, when the operating handle is moved to the left, Ythe card tray is shifted to the'right. The collars 20 are of course adjusted on the rod i8, so that when the handle I is in a neutral position, the card tray I is likewise in a neutral position. The direction of shift of the card tray upon movement in a given direction of the operating handle may be reversed by simply moving the bracket I'I from the position shown in Fig. l, to a point equally removed on the other side of the pivot Illa and mounting it at I'Ia. By these means a time recorder of this type may be placed on each'side of an aisle through which workmen pass. In this situation, although both recorder handles will be rocked in the direction of movement of the workmen, one will in effect be rocked clockwise and the other counter-clockwise. Itis only necessary, therefore, to place the bracket I'I at theposition Ila in one of the recorders, and thenidentical cards may be used in both,.with an in column on the left, and an out column on the right, for eX- ample.

In order to transmit rocking motion from the shaft 8 to the cross shaft 2l for operating other elements of the recorder, which is disposed at right angles'thereto, I mount on the shaft V2I a collar 22, which carries a cam plate 23; The cam plate 23 is provided with a shallow notched cam surface 23a., whichv is clearly shown in Fig. 4. The collar 22 is so mounted upon the shaft 2I, that when the operating handle Ill is in a neutral position, the camroller I2 rests in the center of the notch 23a.. Now when the operating handle is rocked either to the right or the left, the shaft 2i is rocked in a clockwise direction asseen in Fig. 3.

Fixed upon the end of the shaft 2I, as seen in Fig. 2, is a bell crank lever 24, having arms 24a and 2%. A spring 25, connected to the frame and to the end of the arm 24a, urgesthe shaft 2l in a counter-clockwise direction, so as toreturn the mechanism to a neutral position. Connected to the arm Ella is a rod 26, which actuates certain other parts Yof the recorder, as is Ywell known in the art, such as a ribbon shifting mechanism, and a time wheel centering mechanism, none of'which form a part of my invention, and which I shall therefore not describe. At the extreme end of the arm 24D, a linkage indicated generally at 27 serves to actuate the ribbon feed, as is also well known in the art. The hammer shaft is indicated at 5, and is actuated as follows: Pivoted intermediate the length vof the arm 2417 is a link 29, having a projecting lug 29a, and an overhanging trigger 29D, which rests upon a lug 28a, mounted on the shaft 5; the member 29 is urged in a counter-clockwise directionY by a small spring Zlib; integral with the bell-crank 24 is a boss 22C, in which is mounted an adjustable stop screw 2M. Now when the shaft 2I is rocked as above described, the member 29 tends to pull downwardly on the member 28a, rocking the shaft in a clockwise direction. Upon further rocking of the shaft 2I, however, the lug 29a will abut the stop screw 24d, whereby the member 29 will be forced toward the right, until it finally slips off the lug 28a, whereupon the shaft 5, under the inuence of the spring 3U, which is fas,- tened to an arm 3l and to the frame, will snap back to its original position. The hammer 32 will thereby be caused to strike and make a record on4 a card. It is understood that the card tray I is provided with mechanism indicated generally at 34 and well known in the art, whereby an abutment 33, upon which the bottom of a card rests, is intermittently or continuously shifted, whereby over-printing is eliminated.

An exemplary form of card is shown in Fig. 5. It will be noted that the card is divided longitudinally into a right hand and a left hand column, one of these being designated in, and the other out. In my exemplary embodiment, the'abutment 33 shifts upwardly twice a day, so that each transverse line represents one-half of a day. The first record made will be in, at the top of the card, and the second willl be out, also on the same line. The mechanism may be adjusted as above described, so that the in column may be either the right or left hand column, although probably the most natural arrangement will be that indicated in Fig. 5. During the noon hour, the recorder having'been properly adjusted, the abutment 33 will shift upward one notch,so 'that the afternoon in and out recordings will appear in the next line below.v With an arrangement providing for fourteen shifts upwardly fof the abutment 33, one card will surlce for a Week. At the end of the week the abutment 33 will return to the bottom, as is well known inthe art.

It is to be understood that, except as mentioned in theV claims which follow, the type of recorder to which my invention is applied forms no limitation thereon, and that different forms of my preferred embodiment may be made without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to `secure by Letters Patent,`is:-

1. In a time recorder, a laterally Yshiftable card tray and an operating handle movable toward the right or toward the left of the recorder, mechanism connectingsaid operating handle with said card tray, whereby as the handle is movedin one direction thel card tray is shifted to one side, and as the handle is moved in the other direction the card tray is shifted to the other side, and mechanism connectingthe operating handle with the printing mechanism of the reccrder, whereby said movement of said operating handle `actuates said printing mechanism.

2. In a time recorder having a printing mechanism, a laterally shiftable card tray and .an operating handle for the recorder movable toward the right or toward the-left of the recorder, the combination of 'a `mechanical linkage including a Yspring connecting said operating handle with said tray,"wherebyasthe handle is moved in one direction the card tray is` shifted to one side, and as the handle is moved in the other direction the card tray is shifted to the other side, and means for actuating said printing mechanismV by both of said movements, stops to limitthe shifting of the tray, stops to limit the movement of the operating handle, said tray limiting stops being positioned to become operative before the handle limiting stops. Y

3. In a time'recorder having a printing mechanism, a laterally shiftable card tray and an operating handle adapted to be moved toward the right or toward the left of the recorder; mechanism including a lever connecting said operating handle with said card traywhereby as the handle is moved in Vone direction the card tray is shifted to one side, andasV the handle is moved in the other-,directionthe card tray ,is shifted to the other side, and mechanism connecting the operating handle with the printing mechanism of the recorder for actuation thereof by said movement, the former mechanism being changeable, by a change in the class of said lever, to alter the direction in which the card tray is shifted upon movement of the operating handle in a given direction, for the purpose described.

4. In a time recorder having a laterally shiftable card tray, an operating handlefor the recorder movable toward the right or toyard the left of the recorder, and a main rocking lever; a connection between one end of said rocking lever and said tray, and a resilient connection between the other end of said rocking lever and said operating handle, whereby movement of said operating handle may be continued after completion of the tray shifting movement.

5. In a time recorder having a laterally shiftable card tray, an operating handle for the recorder movable toward the right or toward the left of the recorder, and a main rocking lever; a connection between one end of said rocking lever and said tray, a resilient connection between the other end of said rocking lever and said operating handle, said resilient connection comprising a bracket provided with a hole on said rocking lever, a rod connected to the operating handle and passing through said' hole, and springs surrounding said rod on either side of said bracket and maintained in contact therewith by collars on said rod.

6. In a time recorder, a main operating shaft for the recorder, a card tray shiftable for in and out registrations, an operating handle movable in opposite directions from a neutral position, connections therefrom to actuate the operating shaft in the same direction irrespective of the direction of movement of said handle, connections from said handle, including a lever, to shift the card tray to in or out position, depending upon which direction the handle is moved, and means for changing the class of said lever to alter the direction of shift of the tray with relation to directions of movement of the handle.

7. In a time recorder having a printing mechanism and a frontal operating handle which is movable to the right or to the left of the recorder, a main transverse shaft operatively connected to said printing mechanism, and mechanism for translating the rocking motion of said handle in one direction into a rocking motion of said shaft in a given direction, and means for translating the rocking motion of said handle in the other direction into a rocking motion of said shaft in said given direction.

8. In a time recorder having a printing mechanism and a frontal operating handle which is movable to the right or to the left of the recorder, a main transverse shaft operatively connected to said printing mechanism, mechanism for translating the rocking motion of said handle into a rocking motion of said shaft, said mechanism comprising a cam rider actuated by said handle, and in operative relation with a notched cam surface fixed on said shaft.

9. In a time recorder having a printing mechanism, a frontal operating handle adapted to rock a shaft extending into the recorder substantially perpendicularly to the front thereof, .and a main transverse shaft for actuating the printing mechanism in the recorder, and means for transmitting the rocking of said operating handle shaft to said transverse shaft, whereby the latter is rocked in the same direction regardless of the direction of rocking of the operating handle shaft.

10. In a time recorder having a printing mechanism and a frontal operating handle adapted to rock a shaft extending into the recorder substantially perpendicularly to the front thereof, and a main transverse shaft for actuating the printing mechanism in the recorder; means for transmitting the rocking motion of said operating handle shaft to said transverse shaft, whereby the latter is rocked in the same direction regardless of the direction of rocking of the operating handle shaft, said transmitting means comprising a member fixed on said transverse shaft and carrying a cam plate having a shallow V-shaped cam surface, and a member on said operating handle shaft carrying a cam rider adapted in a neutral position of the respective parts to rest in the apex of the V-shaped cam surface.

ELMER G. STRECKFUSS. 

